


Idol Maker

by oddeyedvivi



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Contest, Fluff, Jpop Idols, Jpop Trainees, Kpop idols - Freeform, M/M, Slow Build, kpop trainees, survival show, trainees
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-29
Updated: 2019-01-23
Packaged: 2019-07-20 09:22:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,860
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16134338
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oddeyedvivi/pseuds/oddeyedvivi
Summary: Johnny was excited to take another step closer to debut. He meets a new friend during his time on the survival show.





	1. Settling In

“Hello, I’m Seo Johnny and please vote for me.” Johnny said to the camera in the introduction booth. He stands there, waiting for the machine to ask another question. The machine says bye and shuts off by itself. “Do I leave or stay?.” Johnny asks. 

He stands there for a few more seconds, waiting for a response, he doesn’t get one so he gets out of there booth. He grabbed his luggage, seeing a man standing near the booth. “Drop off your luggage in the first room on your left and the classroom is the last room on your right.” He said sternly, with no facial expression at all. 

Johnny bowed to him and muttered a thanks, even though he could lighten up. That worker reminds him as a British guard, standing there still and doesn’t crack a smile or blink. He opened the door, seeing there’s at least over twenty luggage bags waiting in there. He isn’t the first one here, he got here ten minutes ago and it’s six in the morning. He can’t imagine being the first boy, he wonders what time he got here. He left his bag in there, then made his way to the classroom. 

His company had sent him here, and only him to compete in this new show. They didn’t tell him much, the company just said the show is taking in trainees to compete to be in a temporary group. He said yes immediately because he has been training for a long time and he wants to be closer to a debut. The show had sent him three pairs of the same blue uniform to wear when they shoot the show. He likes how they look, he doesn’t like how stiff they feel, makes him a tad uncomfortable. 

He walks into the classroom, seeing other boys stand up and bow to him so he does the same. He looked at the back of the classroom, seeing there’s two desks empty at the right side. He makes his way there, saying hi to boys as he walks by. He knows they’re being recorded right now, he tries his best to seem appealing to the public and tries not to be himself. Being yourself is when you debut and make the public realize that they shouldn’t have voted for you. 

He sits down. He notices there’s a big screen on the front wall, it’s supposed to look like a chalkboard. Maybe when all the boys walk in, a message will display or a recorded message of the host. It turns on, it revealed a cute boy standing there and starts answering questions – Wait.

“You guys saw me answer questions?!.” Johnny asked, seeing all the boys nod their head to his question. He shrugged down in his seat, feeling embarrassed, especially when the machine asked him to do aegyo. It’s his first day and he feels like he wants to leave, only because he’s humiliated. 

Minutes later the boy who was on the screen walked into the room and Johnny realized he’s prettier in person. He walks to the back of the classroom and stops near Johnny’s seat. “Can I sit here?.” He asked in a polite tone. 

“Sure.” Johnny replied with a small smile, then gave the camera a side eye quickly, he knows that’ll make him seem nice and get some votes in. 

Johnny sat there in silence, him and the other boy keep watching the screen. He notices that most of them are younger than him, more handsome than him. He starts thinking about how he isn’t going to make it far in this show since he notices korea love younger people. The more boys come into the classroom, the more he prepares himself for elimination. 

“I’m excited to see the Japanese boys.” The boy next to Johnny said, shaking a little in excitement. 

Johnny furrowed his eyebrows. Japanese people who train to be in kpop isn’t unusual but the way the boy said it made it seem like there’s going to be a whole bunch of them. “Yeah, same?” Johnny replied. 

“I think collaborating with Japanese companies is a good concept for a show.” He adds on. 

“I’m sorry, what do you mean?.” Johnny asked, fixing his posture from shrugging down and fixed his gaze on the pretty boy to pay close attention. 

“Idol Maker. The first season is making a kpop-jpop boy group. I don’t know if it’s going to be a regular thing but I’m excited that I get to attend such an interesting show.” The boy said – who’s known as Ten, as Johnny read his name tag on his school uniform. 

“A kpop-jpop boy group?.” Johnny asked. “We have to sing in japanese?.” 

“I mean yeah. The final lineup will be promoting in japan too, hence the reason of a kpop-jpop boy group.” Ten answered. “Your company didn’t tell you?.” 

“No.” Johnny said, looking back at the big screen. “This sounds like it’ll be difficult.” 

“It’s definitely a challenge but imagine how many Japanese fans you’ll have when you sing their language. I hear they love it when people learn their language.”

“What if the korea just votes for the korean boys?.” 

“They aren’t allowed. Japan can only vote for korean trainees and Korea can only vote for japanese trainees.”

“How do you know so much?.”

“I read an article about it before coming here.” 

“Oh. . .” 

“Please welcome the Japanese trainees.” The big screen said as it starts writing in korean and japanese right under it. 

Johnny went still, feeling a huge wave of nervousness and excitement wash over him. He sees everyone stopped talking to each other, seeing they are like statues as they read the screen and hear jpop music blare through the intercom speakers in the classroom. 

The first boy that walks in. He has dark red hair, clear skin and noticeable blue contact lenses. He looked at the camera with a serious look, seems like the type to crack a smile on a long, committed joke. 

“Hello, My name is Muto Hayate.” Is all he said, didn’t say something cutely or asking for people’s votes like Johnny did. 

“He’s very handsome.” Ten commented, Johnny humming to that response because he agrees. 

He could easily come to Korea to be a model. All of the classroom stood up as they saw the first japanese trainee walk out of the introduction booth to make their way to classroom with the korean trainees. They all stood there in anticipation, waiting to see if he looks more ethereal in person. 

The door opened, Johnny hears some of the boys gasp in surprise. Hayate walks in with resting bitch face, looked at all of them. Johnny feels intimidated, Hayate seems like he isn’t about funny business, clearly committed to seriousness and professionalism. Suddenly – Hayate gave them the cutest eye smile, bowed down and greeted himself in japanese and korean. His korean is choppy and made some pronunciation mistakes but Johnny finds it cute that he’s trying. The first japanese trainee makes his way to an empty seat. 

“He looked scary but when he smiled he looked so cute, warm and friendly.” Ten said, “I am impressed.” 

The big screen turned on again, it showed a japanese boy who looks like he was ten. “A baby.” Johnny said in awe.

“Hello, My name is Sato Haryuki and I’m 20 years old.” 

“Oh?.” Johnny said, completely shocked at the difference of the Japanese boy’s age and face. 

“And I’m excited to be competing in this korean survival show and I hope the public will love me and vote for me.” The japanese boy said in full korean.

“Oh??.” Johnny said, having another hurrah of shock from the specific trainee. “He sounded korean.” 

“Maybe one of his parents is Korean.” Ten said. 

“Maybe.” Johnny replied, feeling reasonable at the response. “Unless he came here before to study.” 

After the second japanese trainee walked in, the announcer informed the trainees in the classroom that there’s a small recess. Johnny immediately left the classroom to go to the bathroom since he needed to pee since he first walked in here and he’s going to explode any minute.

After he was done, a lot more trainees walked into the bathroom. Making a line at the urinals and stalls. “I was thinking we weren’t getting a bathroom break at all. The shows on television make it seem like they stay in a room for hours.” Someone said as Johnny walked out, he had the same thought too. 

That’s why he felt panic when he needed to pee, he didn’t know what would happen if he had to wait for the other trainees to sit down. He wasn’t going to embarrass himself on national television. He walked back into the classroom, seeing Ten still sitting at the desk, tapping his fingers on it, looking bored out of his mind. 

He sat back beside him, stretched out his arms and looked around the room to look at specific details because he doesn’t know how to start a conversation and assumes looking around the room would prevent one. He looked at the ceiling, seeing there’s some kind of clock hanging there. 

“I wish they didn’t take our phones away.” Ten complained, sitting up straight and stretched out his arms and yawn since Johnny did it. “I wonder how we are going to communicate with the Japanese trainees when it’s time to talk about group performances.” 

“I pray that they’ll be a translator beside us at all times.” Johnny replied. 

“Attention students, you have five more minutes to get back to the classroom.” The announcer said in korean, then repeated himself but this time in japanese. 

Minutes had passed, more trainees had walked in. Johnny completely zoned out, feeling drowsy since he’s been sitting in the same spot for hours. He knew filming a show takes time, he just didn’t know that it can be so exhausting and makes him want to slam his head on the desk. He should’ve taken an energy shot before coming. After getting back to reality, Johnny notices that the classroom is now full, he thanks god in his head because he didn’t know how much longer he can go on. 

People started to scream in excitement. Johnny stood up to see it was an idol he doesn’t listen to at all or know anything about their group. Johnny pretends to be excited for the person because she’s an idol and it’s good to look like you’re a fan of a mentor, it’s what brings the vote in. 

“Attention students. I came here to show you your schedules.” She said with a smile, then the announcer through the intercom said what the idol said in japanese for the japanese trainees. 

Having to wait for the translator to speak is kind of a patient tester for Johnny but with time he’ll get used to it. 

She walked up to the board, then a list had popped up on the screen. It was a list filled with Hangul and Japanese. 

The first thing on the list to learn the theme song, both korean and japanese versions. Johnny felt himself panic, he doesn’t want to mess up pronunciations, he’s not sure if he can perfect this task. He has to work a lot harder than usual in training, he needs those votes, he needs that debut. 

The second thing on the list is to film the theme song, so they’ll be evaluations to find the face of the music video. Johnny cannot lack on this one, he needs that spotlight, he needs the screentime. 

“Also, every morning you’ll be coming here to have lessons for two hours. korean trainees will have japanese classes and japanese trainees will have korean classes.” The idol said, then she stood there and gave everyone an awkward smile while the translator in the intercom repeats what she said in Japanese. 

Ten on the other hand, he is burning up with motivation. When he had walked into this college building, he had the mindset of making no friends because they’d be a waste of times. That mindset flew out the window when he first saw Johnny and when the first japanese trainee walked in. He has to befriend one of them, they seem such a ball of sunshine, he needs someone who’ll motivate him and make him feel happy all the time. They just seem like they would be good friends. Ten wonders how one can form a pure friendship with a language barrier. 

He had jumped in excitement when he heard that his company were going to send him here. He had watched shows about trainees competing many of times before. The whole point is for the trainee to gain recognition and get their company well known. He also found a pattern that most of the times the trainees come to compete, they debut afterwards. Leaving Thailand and coming to Korea alone was totally worth it and not a waste of time at all. 

He secretly sees Johnny as a friend already but he won’t admit that, all they did was have a few small talks while sitting bored in the same spot for two hours. Television makes some scenes seem fast, the viewers will only find this scene two minutes long. Ten only sat beside Johnny because he was attractive, but he’s not going to admit that either.

Ten notices that Johnny is bored out of his mind, Ten is having the time of his life. Meeting japanese trainees was such an experience for him, also hearing japanese after the mentor is done speaking is his favourite thing. 

“Since it’s nine am, your language classes will start now. The japanese trainees will be going to the classroom across the hall and the korean trainees will remain here.” The mentor said, and Ten has a smile when he waits for the translator to speak in Japanese. 

*** 

“There, I learned the alphabets to japanese.” Johnny said with a prideful smirk and his arms crossed, feeling cocky that he beat everyone on the challenge. Maybe learning a language isn’t that difficult, Johnny thought in his mind. 

“You just memorized hiragana.” Ten informed, he grabbed Johnny’s paper and flipped it over to reveal the other alphabet system in japanese. “You have to memorize katakana too.” 

“I have to memorize all of this too?!.” Johnny asked in shocked, then he put his head on the desk, feeling defeated already. It’s the first day of idol maker and he wants to leave the show. He came here to dance, sing and rap, not repeat high school. 

“You also have to memorize chinese characters, it’s called kanji and there an necessity to the japanese language.” Ten stated, getting a huge groan of discouragement from Johnny. “You seriously haven’t seen how japanese looks like? Have you not watch anime or seen a movie where they’re in japan?.” 

“No.” Johnny said, then he sat up straight and grabbed the paper to continue studying the japanese characters. “Wait- is this study session going to be televised?.” 

“Maybe, there’s at least three cameras in this classroom.” Ten replied, looking around to spot them. “I don’t see a red dot on them. . . So you’re safe from looking lazy on television.” 

“Good.” Johnny replied in relief, then continued to study. 

He wonders how the Japanese trainees are doing. Korean only has one alphabet system and it’s easy to memorize. He doesn’t know what’s the backstory on katakana and why it’s needed but the Japanese teacher will probably tell them.

An hour had went by and then an actual school bell had rang, making Johnny jump. “I didn’t know there was an actual bell.” Johnny said as he placed his hand on his chest, feeling his risen heartbeat. 

“I mean, we are in a college building.” Ten replied. “Then again, I don’t think colleges have school bells.” 

The main door had opened, revealing that it was the Japanese teacher. She walked up to the chalkboard, hands behind her back and giving everyone a death glare. “At the end of this week, you’ll be tested on your japanese and you’ll gain benefit points depending on your japanese.” She stated. 

A trainee lifted his hand, she nods to let him know that’s it’s okay to ask the question. “Who will we converse with?.” He asked. 

“A japanese trainee. You’ll be speaking to them in japanese and they’ll be speaking to you in korean. We’ll test on which trainee can go longer on the conversation. Now, you’ll proceed to the gymnasium for your dance lessons.” The teacher said, then she walked out of the classroom. 

Ten feels a quick panic. He’s almost fluent in korean, now he has to be fluent in japanese? At first he didn’t mind the concept of a show where korean and japanese trainees compete but now he does, just a little. He assumed that he just had to memorize lyrics and sing the songs that would be given to them. He never expected to on having to learn Japanese during the show, he thought that would be an after show thing but boy was he wrong.

Johnny and Ten were standing beside each other in the gymnasium. They had five minutes to run to the bathroom to change in the stalls. They were given a white and blue shirt with the show’s logo on it, also some black sweatpants. He was standing around until he remembered something. 

“Oh my god, Ten.” Johnny whined. “Haryuki is already fluent in korean, he’ll win those benefit points.” 

“I’m not. I just have good pronunciation.” A random voice said,

Johnny looked around, seeing that Haryuki was standing right behind him. He has to make sure of his surroundings before he talks about someone because he feels embarrassed and called out. “How good is your korean?.” Johnny asked. 

“Starters.” Haryuki said, he had troubles saying the word. 

Johnny felt relieved at that but feels a tad disappointed because his pronunciation was spot on and really though he was fluent. Even with his pronunciation, Haryuki will gain a lot of korean fans and receive a lot of votes. Because one, he’s cute and second, his pronunciation.

“I’m good at English though if that helps on anything.” Haryuki said. 

“Is there anything you can’t do?.” Johnny asked in English because he met another english speaker. 

“Sing.” Haryuki answered in English. 

“I bet you’ll improve here, this show slash school seems to be like real school.” 

Haryuki nodded, then he returned his gaze back at the stage in front of the gym, continued to wait for the mentor.

“Did that sound rude? I didn’t mean to sound rude. I was rude wasn’t I?.” Johnny asks in worry. 

“No. Because you’re right. It’s like I’m back at high school again.” Haryuki answered in annoyance. “The only good side is there’s no obnoxious people. I’m going to switch back to japanese since this is a japanese-korean based show.” 

“Same. It’s probably a good idea.” Johnny replied in korean.

“What?.” Haryuki asked in japanese.

“Attention students.” A man said, everyone turned their attention to see an unfamiliar face. 

Johnny doesn’t recognize him, hasn’t seen him on tv or magazines, perhaps just a dancing teacher. He looks around the gymnasium, seeing that everyone isn’t moving at all and it’s kind of freaking him out. 

“Today you’re going to learn the dance to the show’s theme song and tomorrow you’ll be evaluated on your singing. So right now, we are learning the dance. Tomorrow? You have to memorize both korean and japanese versions to the song tonight and be ready after you language classes.” 

All the korean trainees groaned at that, the mentors laughed at them. After the translator was done saying what he had said, the Japanese trainees started to groan too. 

“We’re basically in high school, except it’s televised.” Haryuki said in English. 

Johnny sees the choreographer dance smoothly. Seeing how the tiniest body roll he does got something going in Johnny. He memorizes moves as much as he can, he has a habit of wanting to be a show off so he’s concentrating his best. His concentration was broken when he turned his head to see Ten moving his limbs lazily, obviously focused on the dance, learning as much as he can like Johnny. Ten seems to be in his old world right now, not caring that Johnny is starting to look like some creep in public. 

He teared his gaze away, not wanting to be more creepy than he intended to be. He hears the song too, it’s a cute kind of song, it’s what he expects since this show is school themed. Johnny is way too old to be wearing a school uniform that looks like an elementary student would wear but this what korea loves. 

Johnny stepped back in confusion when he couldn’t understand the second verse. It’s in Japanese. He realized that he shouldn’t be shocked since this show is korean and japanese based. All he hears is the japanese boys cheer, move around in excitement and continues to bob their head to the beat. 

Johnny isn’t going to lie, the Japanese part sounds good, more better than the korean part if he dares. He doesn’t understand it but all he knows that it makes him feel warm and happy inside, so he starts to bob his head with the Japanese boys. 

“Alright, you have an hour to perfect the dance before we judge you.” Was all the man said before walking off with the other mentors. 

“Crap. I zoned out on the Japanese verse.” Johnny muttered. 

Everyone started to spread out so they can practice. Johnny moved to the side until one of the camera men told him to stop before he bumped into the camera. He apologized to the man and the camera and move towards the corner of the gym. 

He started to do the dance moves to himself, doing all the things he can remember. He thought he had it in the bag, until he started to forget the moves as he tries to practice. Memorizing dance moves always had been his problem, he just thought if he focused on the dancer more intensely, he’d remember. 

He looked to the right, seeing the japanese boys moving lazily. Clearly not knowing what the choreography was, Johnny feels bad because they look like they’re struggling. He wants to help them but he’s struggling too. 

He looks to the left, seeing Ten dancing exactly how the choreographer danced. Johnny is amazed on how fast he can learn dance. He continues to watch him in fascination. “God he’s hot.” Johnny muttered under his breath, continues to look at Ten move so relaxed and smooth. 

Johnny looks at the japanese trainees again, seeing them not move anymore, looking worried and scared. He makes his way to Ten, he just needs to be refreshed on what the choreography is so he can able to help out the japanese trainees. He looks around again, seeing the korean trainees practicing by themselves, he noticed how one of them were laughing at the japanese boys. 

“Hey!.” Johnny called out, catching the rude korean boy’s attention. “Go back to practicing.” He adds on, seeing the boy roll his eyes and did what he’s told. 

“I hope you go home on the first round of eliminations.” Johnny muttered, then he walks up to Ten, taps him on the shoulder. “Can you help me real quick so I can help the japanese boys?.” 

Ten stopped, turned around to look at Johnny and the Japanese boys. “How about I just teach you all together?.” Ten asked.

Johnny wants to say no, he wants to look good for the camera and also, it would hurt his ego just a tad. This is a show though, it’s all about improving and team work. Johnny has to improve memorizing choreography and the japanese boys need to sharpen their dancing abilities. Also, the language barrier is difficult so helping the Japanese boys looks good. Johnny decides to give Ten this chance to look like an angel , he’ll ace the evaluation, he promises himself. 

“Okay.” Johnny said. “That’s a good idea. Let’s go.” 

Johnny realized that he’ll have to watch Ten dance, he has to concentrate more harder on learning the dance. He was completely captivated when he was watching him from the corner of the gym, he doesn’t know how he’ll learn when he’s up and front of him. 

*** 

Johnny was holding his bag filled with his clothes, it is now officially nine pm. It has been a long day and his body is aching for rest. The staff member just handed him a key with his room number on it. They mention that he would have one roommate so he hopes he gets there before they do so he can claim the bottom bunk. 

He walked down a dim hallway, giving him that eerie feeling. He doesn’t know how old this college building is but it feels a little haunted if he’s being honest. 

He walked up to the door, seeing the same number on his key. He was going to unlock until he saw the door was opened a little. He pushed it open to reveal Ten sitting on a small couch placed by a large window. 

“You’re my roommate?.” Ten asked as he stood up. 

Johnny held up his key to show the number of their room. 

“Nice.” Ten said “I call top bunk.” 

“Good because I’m too tall for top bunk.” 

Johnny lies down at the bottom bunk, moaning at the comfort he craved all day. He didn’t care that his shirt had risen up, he’s too lazy to put it down and quietly frankly, he hopes Ten looks at his stomach. “I could just fall asleep. Goodnight.” Is all Johnny said, he can feel himself falling into a deep slumber until a pillow landed on his face. “We haven’t been roommates for more than ten minutes and I already want you out.” Johnny complained, getting a snort out of Ten. 

“Hate to bug you but we still have to learn the song. both Korean and Japanese version.” Ten said.

“Get out. Just get out. I was in a good mood.” 

Ten snorted again, he walked to his bag that he placed on the couch. His body feels dirty, especially after sweating so much during dance practice. His body craves for a shower, he grabbed his towel, the small shower bag that the show provided and a fresh pair of clothes. 

“I’m going to the showers.” Ten announced, looking at the pillow still covering Johnny’s face. His eyes secretly went to his stomach, seeing that Johnny has abs and a happy trail. 

Ten turned around, made his way out of the room. He bit down on thumb, processing that Johnny, the person who he had found hot since he walked into the classroom this morning, is his roommate. He’s tall, handsome and has abs. Ten literally finds him perfect.

Johnny was about to fall asleep again until he heard a knock on his door. He groaned loudly, not caring that the person on the other side of the door can hear him. He stood up, walked up to the door and opened it. He was going to ask what rudely but he saw it was one of the workers for the show. 

“Oh hi. How can I can help you?.” Johnny asked while bowing, hoping it would remove the fact he groaned loudly. He can’t help it, he just wants to sleep. 

“You’re due for a confessional stand.” The worker said. “It’ll begin in a few minutes, go to the introduction booth.” 

Johnny had walked into the booth, he thought it would be one of those confessionals where he can sit down but no. He looked at the camera. 

“How was your first day?.” The machine asked. 

“It was challenging. It’s just the first day too so I’ll have time to adapt. Give me two days or three.” Johnny answered honestly.

“Which of the korean trainees do you think will debut into our eight piece boy group?.”

“I would have to say Ten. He can dance really good, he learned the choreography just by watching it. I haven’t heard him sing though but I wouldn’t be surprised if he can.” 

“Which one of the Japanese trainees do you think will debut into our eight piece boy group?.” 

“I would have to say Hayate, Haryuki and Kaito. Although they have improvements to make, I can tell they’ll be hard workers.” 

“What’s your thoughts about having to learn Japanese during your time on the show?.” 

“At first I wasn’t into it but now that I actually gave it a thought, it’s a good thing since idol schedules are packed and finding time to learn japanese will be hard.” 

“Thoughts about having to promote in japan?.” 

“I went there a few times, it would be fun. I love japan. It’s beautiful.” 

“Have you befriended any of the japanese trainees yet?.” 

“Not yet but I hope they find me interesting.” 

“Say your last message before going to bed.” 

“Hello korea and japan. I hope you find me likeable and root for me.” Johnny said with a wave and the machine turned off. 

He walked out of the booth, seeing there was a japanese boy waiting outside of the booth. He bowed to Johnny, then proceeded into the booth. 

The machine started up and started to ask him questions but in japanese.  
Johnny gave this show a huge thought, it won’t be bad being here. Johnny can’t wait to feel like a proud dad for the japanese trainees when they improve. They’ll be powerful, he can feel it. 

He walks back into his room, happy to see his bed but he sees Ten tying his pyjama pants tighter – shirtless. Johnny teared his gaze away from him as fast as he can. Of coarse he has abs, Johnny thought and laid in his bunk on his stomach. He kept cursing himself in his head, his roommate is hot. 

“We still have to learn the songs.” Ten said.

Johnny figured out that he isn’t hot anymore. 

 

<


	2. Face Of The MV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The show is looking for the face of the music video

Johnny was sitting on the floor with Ten in a spacious room. They had woken up, took their showers, ate breakfast, had their language class and was told to wait in this room until the camera crew is ready to film. It has been at least an hour by now, he kind of understands why they’re early but at the same time he thinks it’s unfair to make them wait. Johnny was leaning against the wall, closing his eyes until he felt something on top of his lap. 

He opened his eyes, seeing that Ten’s head was on his lap. Ten had his hands on his stomach, head on Johnny’s lap and giving the ceiling a blank stare. “Don’t mind me. I’m just trying to not fall asleep.” Ten said as his eyes are still glue to the ceiling, he’s trying to fight to keep them open but they feel heavy. 

“I don’t think lying down helps staying awake.” Johnny said, receiving a quick glance from Ten, clearly annoyed at the obvious fact. 

“Johnny-Ssi.” A small voice said, Johnny turned his head to see one of the japanese boy. He looked down at a small piece of paper, then back at Johnny. “Did you – sleep well?.” He said slowly. 

“Yes.” Johnny said with a smile and nod, loving how he is trying to communicate with him, despite having to look down at a piece of paper. “You?.” 

The japanese boy took a second to process on what Johnny said. “Yes.” He said cautiously, scared that he said something wrong. “Good?.” He asked with a thumbs up. 

“Good.” Johnny said, raising his hand to give him a thumbs up too. The japanese boy smiled, then he walked away from Ten and Johnny. 

“That was adorable.” Ten said. “He was scared if he said yes wrong.” 

“I forgot how to say no in japanese so give him a break.” Johnny said.

“I wasn’t making fun of him, I was admiring his effort.” Ten defended.

The camera crew had walked in, the trainees started to stand up. Some of the trainees were trying to wake up, some even lightly slapped their faces to try to get a rush of adrenaline. 

“This might be my last tv show to do. This is exhausting even though all we did was get ready and wait.” Ten complained as he stood up. 

“It’s just the second day, just wait to get used to it.” Johnny replied, getting a playful glare from Ten. 

The cameramen gave them a thumbs up to let them know they are recording. Now they just go back to do what they were doing – waiting for a mentor or the host to show up but look more alive. Ten wonders if many trainees are watching this, he wonders if they think being on a show is fun. He thought it was but he’s been complaining in his mind a lot, Johnny said wait to get used to it but his tired and stubborn mind is making him irritated. 

Ten looks at the japanese boy that approached them earlier, seeing that he has his face in a textbook. He is studying korean while waiting – Ten should do that, he needs to know a little more japanese whenever they do performances. He has to communicate, he is terrible at charades. 

Everyone started to cheer, Ten turned his head to see it was the dancing mentor walking in, with a man in black behind him. He’s probably another translator, he wonders where the other man is. 

“Hello Students.” The dance mentor said, all the trainees said hello together. There was some japanese mix into the shouting crowd. “I have an announcement to make. Today we are picking our face of the music video. We’ll give you another hour to practice the two versions of the theme song and after that, we’ll get you to record yourself singing and dancing for us to review and choose.” 

The shock of excitement had finally hit Johnny, there are finally being tested. He spent most of his night singing the japanese version. Up to the point where Ten was begging to go to sleep, he ignored him a few times until Ten’s tone got a little dominant. Johnny groaned loudly to let the smaller boy know he was getting annoying, and then he went to bed. He may be exhausted but at least he got the song memorized – now he gets to refresh his mind. He’s determined to gain the centre spot, he needs it. 

The dance mentor walked out with the translator, all the trainees picked up their papers and starts singing to themselves. Johnny picks up his paper, starts to sing the japanese lyrics. He is thankful for the fact that it’s in hangul, he doesn’t know more than five kanjis so reading the actual japanese lyrics isn’t an option until he improves. 

“Johnny-Ssi?.” A familiar voice called out, Johnny looked up from his paper, seeing the same japanese boy from earlier and an unfamiliar face. “Help. .?” He asked, then he looked at his piece of paper to see if he had said the right word. 

“What’s your name?.” Johnny asked slowly in korean. 

The taller japanese boy had a confused look on his face. The smaller one was looking down at his paper, trying to help his friend out to answer before things get awkward between them. Johnny seriously needs to have the patience and motivation to learn another language like the japanese trainees. 

“Oh!” The small japanese boy said, then he showed the taller boy his piece of paper. 

“I’m Nakamoto Yuta.” The taller japanese boy said, who is now Yuta, replied in korean. 

“I’m Nagano Reo.” The smaller japanese boy replied. 

Johnny finds it cute when they talk in formal language. Their “habnida.” and “sibnida.” sounds like “haminida.” and “sibminida.” 

Johnny moved away from Ten a little bit, then he pat the space of floor beside him. Both of the japanese boys smiled, said thank you over and over and sat down so they can be corrected on their pronunciation. 

Ten stood up and moved away from Johnny and the japanese boys he was helping. He feels confident that he has the japanese version of the song in the bag by now. He starts to practice the choreography. At first he was shy and embarrassed dancing in front of other trainees when he first came to korea but he had gotten used to it. 

He couldn’t help but see some of the trainees were admiring him or silent hyping him up. He’s like being praised for something he loves to do so he gives himself a little smirk. After he was done the chorus, he needed to watch the video on an iPad the cameramen stacked in the middle of the room. To see if he missed any moves or did something slightly wrong.

He walked up to the pile of iPads and he was approached by one of the japanese boys. “Hello.” He said with a bow, Ten wanted to tell him to drop the formalities but he doesn’t know how to so he just basks in politeness. 

“Dance?.” He asked while giving his limbs a little shake, Ten tries to figure out what he is trying to say. He nods slowly, unsure on how to reply, verbal or body movements. “I,” he said in korean, he points at Ten. “Dance?.” He asked as he swung his limbs around. 

Ten was looking at him, seeing how the cute boy is desperately trying to communicate until it snapped in his mind. “OH!.” He said, he started to nod his head. He picked up an iPad, then he used his hand to tell him to follow him back to his spot. 

He’s willing to help the japanese boys again, most of the korean trainees turn a blind eye when they are asking for help. He hopes their attitudes changes soon, he gets that it’s a contest but making a japanese friend wouldn’t hurt them. They need to look friendly in order for japan to fall in love with them. It’s just a basic thing, be kind and the public will love you. 

He learned that the japanese trainee is named Haru. Ten likes japanese names, he thinks they sound so cool and majestic. Also, he likes that his name also means day in korean so it has a meaning. 

Ten analyzes his dancing, Haru is a little stiff but his facial expressions makes up for it. It’s a bubbly song, so the eye smiles, smirks and winks is Haru’s speciality on the dance. Ten tries not to feel soft and giggle whenever Haru gives him a finger heart and an eye smile. 

Although he is improving slowly, he’ll be good enough by the time they need to record. He has a lot of patience for the trainee, he used to be in the same spot, it wouldn’t be fair of Ten to get mad at him. He made a lot of mistakes too on choreographies in the past, instead of being rude and stern, he’s being soft and kind.

“Together.” Ten said in korean, pointing at the both of them. “One, two, three.” He counts in English and both of them started to do the choreography, while singing the korean version of the song. Ten is surprised at Haru’s pronunciation, it’s definitely not the best but he can fully understand him. He’s doing good so far, the thing he noticed in Haru is that he runs out of breath easily. Ten hopes that’ll improve while he’s on the show, he can’t help him on that problem since he isn’t a vocal teacher, he doesn’t know the problem.

Ten looks at the clock on the iPad, seeing that they have a half hour left to practice before they are taken to go record. Although he thinks he’s completely set for the recording, he continues to dance and sings in korean and japanese even more. There’s nothing wrong with being too safe.

After Johnny helped the two japanese boys with their pronunciation, more had came to him for help. Johnny being himself, he has a need to help people until they are satisfied. He hasn’t had any practice for himself yet, he basically knows the dance and the songs so he figures he’s good. He can slip in a fifteen minute practice after he’s done with the four japanese boys that are with him right now. 

He notices that it’s always the same character, he wonders if this is a common problem japanese people face when learning korean. Overall, they are decent with the other characters, not great but passable since he can understand them when they sing the song. That’s what this show is for, improving and the language classes are a bonus. He’s thankful that all of them can read hangul, thanks to the language classes the show had provided.

The show is school themed and it feels realistic. Waking up super early, language class and cramming last minute for a test. Ten told him he read an article about how this is the place to learn, right now he feels pressure to suddenly be perfect for the public in a short amount of time. Johnny can handle the pressure but he does have a limit, he just hopes he won’t face it while he’s on the show. Doesn’t matter how hard it gets, he refuses to cry on camera.

“Thank you! Thank you!.” The japanese boys said with a smile and bowing down to Johnny consistently. Johnny smiles back at them, then they walked away to practice the dance as much as they can. 

Johnny stands up, he goes get an iPad from the pile in the middle of the room. He wants to sneak on twitter real quick, to see if someone likes him but he’ll probably get caught. One of the big no no’s while being on the show is that they’re not allowed to go on social media. It has been rough, it’s only day two and he’s having withdrawals.

He goes back to his spot, he sets the iPad on the floor and pressed play. He moves along with the dancers on the video, also singing along with it so it’ll refresh his mind even more. He panics a little when he realized they are some dance moves he doesn’t remember, it’s minor changes so it wasn’t a big deal to him. 

As he dances, he sees the boys he had helped out happily dancing the choreography. They are making it look easy, they probably love learning a dance that’s sort of cutesy. 

Minutes has passed, Johnny thinks he got all the bases covered to be able to land the position as face of the music video. Or at least a spot that’ll make him noticeable in the formation. He feels pleased with himself. 

He sees one of the cameras are pointing at him. “Don’t make eye contact.” The man said behind the camera. Johnny turned his head, trying not to laugh.

“Students.” The mentor said through his microphone. Everyone turned their head to see the handsome man, Johnny wouldn’t be surprised if they had a crush on him because he is fine. “It’s time to film your submission video, we look forward to reviewing your skills.” He said with a smile.

*** 

The host and the mentors were gathered in a small dim room. There’s a tv on the wall, the current screen is just blue with the show’s logo on it. They take their seats at the round table and waits for the cameraman to explain on how they’re going to do it. They get to pick the face of the music video and all of them feels like they possess so much power. It’s literally the only thing that they can control on the show. 

“We are going to give you five files for now about the trainees and you’ll review another five after your done.” The cameraman said as he walked up to the table, placing down five brown files in the middle of the table. “We shall begin.” 

The host and the mentors nodded, they all grabbed a file and are excited to see how the trainees progressed on doing this on a short amount of time. The show is about learning about stuff but doesn’t mean they’ll test how fast they work. 

“The first trainee is named Asai Kaito.” The cameraman said, and pressing play to reveal the trainee smiling brightly at the camera. 

“Cute.” The singing mentor said.

Kaito bob’s his head, then starts performing. The mentors think he isn’t doing that bad, the problem is that they can understand him and suddenly can’t, it goes in and out. He stops singing when the build up comes, because it required him to sing higher. They reviewed his japanese video, it’s the same as his korean video. 

“Next trainee is named Kim Jungwoo.”

Right off the bat, everyone are impressed with his singing and stability. The only flaw they find is that he is too serious, the song is cute so it requires facial expression. They clapped their hands a little when he succeeds at the build up. They reviewed his japanese video, he forgot the lyrics before he can get to the build up and he gave up on dancing. He stopped his japanese video early. 

“Hope he doesn’t have the habit of quitting in the middle of things in the future.” The host said. 

“Next trainee is Huang Renjun, a trainee under a korean company.” The cameraman clarifies.

It was awkward at first because he forgot the first verse of the song but his voice being spot on in the build up made up for it. Several seconds go by until his breathing starts going badly, making him only sing every now and then during the song. He remember the first verse in the japanese version but the breathing problem is still there. 

“Next trainee is Lee Donghyuck.” 

The dancing mentor focuses more into this one. “His voice is unique.” He said right off the bat, getting agreements from his colleagues. The problem with the video is he sang the first verse again when he was supposed to sing the second verse. He also forgot the break down of the song so he stood there until it was over. He didn’t do the breakdown in his japanese video either. 

“I can’t wait to hear him sing during the performances next week.” The host said.

“The next trainee is Nagano Reo.”

The thing they noticed is his teeth. One tooth is bigger then the rest of top row when he smiles and his eyes wider than the past trainees they seen. “Adorable.” The host said. 

Reo’s pronunciation seems to be better than the last japanese trainee they reviewed. It’s a tad more decent. The host and the mentors aren’t looking for the most perfect pronunciation in the japanese trainees, they just need to understand them. He did stop singing during the second verse but continued when the chorus came up again. 

“Nice.” The singing mentor said. 

They have been reviewing the trainees, they place files of potential centres in the middle of the table so they can discuss about it afterwards. The host and mentors aren’t disappointed with the results, they only had two days to prepare. She’s amazed on how well they’re doing, if she’s being honest, she’s more amazed at the japanese boys. She was informed that they really don’t have a training system in japan, they have to train themselves. But it doesn’t mean she isn’t proud of the korean trainees. 

The japanese boys are talented, just not as much as the korean trainees. The host is looking forward to see them grow during their time on the show.

“The last five boys are named Nakamoto Yuta, Lee Taeyong, Muto Hayate, Ten and Seo Johnny.” The cameraman said.

The host and the mentors were extremely impressed by the last five. They thought they had a potential centre but ever since they reviewed last trainees, they have some serious reconsideration. 

The TV was shut off, the mentors started to study the files, imagining scenarios in their heads. They had a bathroom break, came back and continued to struggle with this problem. 

“I think the centre shouldn’t be korean.” The dance mentor stated. “This is the first show that collaborated with japanese companies.” 

“You might have a point but we have to consider korean trainees too.” The host said. 

The singing mentor watches them bicker like a couple as she takes a sip of her water. She puts her bottle down, then reaches over for a file. “You can still choose the centre but from analyzing the trainees. I think he should be centre.” She said as she opened a file to let them see who’s she talking about. 

The host gave an impressed hum, it’s like she had read her thoughts. She looked at the dance mentor, seeing a smirk on his face and gave them a nod for approval. “There we have it. Our centre.” 

“Let’s go to the trainees and tell them.” The host said as she stood up, getting excited to see the trainee’s face. 

“We have to travel to a set for the announcement.” The cameraman said. 

The host gave him a blank face. She does not like travelling. 

*** 

Ten is sitting with all of the trainees on plastic chairs in a field in front of a stage. He likes the set up, it looks like a high school graduation, they even have flags with the show’s logo on them behind it to make it more theatrical. The only flaw Ten finds is that they had to take an hour bus ride just to record a scene. 

The more time he spends on this show, the more he realizes how fake TV is. He can’t wait to get back to the building, take a shower, take a glimpse at Johnny’s abs again and fall asleep. His body has been aching for his bed ever since they recording their submissions for the centre positions for the music video. He’s just like everyone, they desperately want it because they guaranteed more screen time. Everyone knows the more screen time you get, the more votes can be pulled in. 

Ten is sitting with Johnny and Reo, seeing the tall guy he likes using his hands to play charades with the japanese boy to communicate. He doesn’t know how he does it, Ten is terrible at it and everyone would think he’s crazy. He could be able to play out something offensive accidentally – he just doesn’t bothers with charades. 

After Johnny was done filming his submission video, him and Reo has been spending more time together. They been friends for a short of time and Reo is already calling him Hyung. Johnny was taken by surprise at first but felt warm inside and enjoys the younger calling him it, makes him feel closer with him. 

The host walked up on stage, everyone stood up and started to clap. She is dressed very nicely, like going out to test wine nice. The mentors are behind her dressing fancy too and the dance mentor got Johnny all worked up. That suit fits him well. 

“Hello students. I gathered you outside of the school to announce the centre of the music video.” She said, making Johnny scoff. They are outside, yes but there no where near the school. He can’t believe the production team made them come out in the middle of nowhere just to make ONE announcement. “Also this week’s ‘japan and korea’s favourite” where we announce who gotten the most votes from the countries.” 

The first episode aired today with live voting. Johnny knows he’s probably not going to get it, he hasn’t shown people that he’s a literal angel yet. The first episode was just them sitting in the classroom while the other trainees walked in. 

“Keep in mind. Just because you’re a country’s favourite, doesn’t mean that you’re safe from next week’s eliminations. Ranks change.” She said with a smile. “Alright! The music video’s centre.” 

All the boys sat at the edge of their seats, anticipating on who it is. Most of them have a feeling it isn’t going to be them since they tanked their submission but are anxiously waiting for the show’s centre. 

Ten looks down at his hand, seeing that Johnny took his hand in his. He feels warm at the contact, he doesn’t want to pull away from this. Also he really can’t since the other’s grip is tight. 

Everyone stands up, clapping their hands and yelling congratulations to the trainee she called out. Johnny feels satisfied with the pick, the centre isn’t korean. He doesn’t know if the show will repeat the same concept so it’s good the centre is japanese. Also he looks centre material.

He walked up on stage, he grabbed the fake diploma and thanks the host. 

“Congratulations on being centre. Nakamoto Yuta.” 

“Now, time to announce the favourites.” The host said, all of the trainees sit down to see who’s relevant on the show. “We’ll start with Japan’s favourite. Japan’s favourite korean trainee is – Lee Taeyong.” 

Johnny claps for the trainee. He isn’t surprised, the boy is probably one of the two most attractive trainees among them. He hasn’t interacted with him but from the looks of it, he’s very collected. Unless he’s shy, he is looking forward to see how he is once he feels comfortable around them. He doesn’t quite understand what’s the prize of being a country’s favourite but he isn’t complaining if it’s for bragging rights. 

“Now, time for Korea’s favourite trainee.” The host said, everyone shutting up after she said that, anticipating who’s the most popular japanese trainee on the show. “Korea’s favourite is – Muto Hayate.” 

Johnny isn’t surprised. Him and Taeyong go head to head on visuals. Both beautiful men, both collected – he thinks they’re like the same person at the moment, maybe they’ll be crackheads when they open up. 

 

***

Johnny walked up to his door, he had came from the showers and is ready for bed. Before he opens the door, he decided to do something. He takes a deep breath, he thanks god there’s no cameras in their rooms so this moment won’t be recording. He looks down at his bare abdomen, seeing it’s still kind of damp. 

He opens the door, the first thing he sees is Ten reading a book. Ten looks up, Johnny saw Ten take a quick glance at his stomach. He walks to the closet, once the other couldn’t see his face, he smirked to himself. He looked. 

Ten looks at Johnny’s back, biting down on his thumb, seeing how tan his skin is, how toned the muscles are. He put his eyes back on his japanese learning book once he saw Johnny move. He doesn’t need him knowing he was checking him out. He’s so hot, Ten thought. He’s only interested in Johnny, Taeyong and Hayate are the most beautiful boys on the show but Johnny is the one for him. It’s good to have a crush on a show.

“Study.” Ten said in japanese, trying to get Johnny to hurry up to put on a shirt before he starts openly flirting with him. 

“What does that mean?.” Johnny said, he turned around and started to put on a muscle shirt for bed. He decided to wear some shorts he packed instead of pyjamas, he noticed that it gets a little stuffy during the night times. 

“Study.” Ten answered in korean. “We really need to study more, the japanese trainees are making me feel like shit for not studying as hard as them.”

“Agreed.” Johnny said, he laid down on his bed, moaning softly as his body gets the comfort it was crying for. 

Ten wants to ask Johnny why does he need to moan but he bites his tongue. He looked at the clock on the desk in their room, seeing it was almost twelve thirty. “I’m going to bed, I need more rest since wake up time is super early.” Ten said, he dropped his japanese from the top bunk, covered his body with the blanket and gets into a comfortable position. 

“Are you worried about the first elimination round?.” Johnny asked. 

“Of coarse I am. I need to work harder. I just hope I get a good dancing song when the live performances come up.” Ten replied. 

“Why not a singing song? Your voice is good.” Johnny complemented, hoping it would lighten Ten’s mood. 

“Yours too.” Ten replied, smirking to himself, he was fishing and it worked, he loves being showered with compliments. 

“Nah.” 

“You have a good singing voice, Johnny. I don’t know why you’re not confident in it.” 

“It’s not that strong.”

“I know.” Ten said. “But there shouldn’t be a reason why you had to go THAT quiet when singing the theme song. I’m not vocal expert but you were capable singing the verses since there were simple.” 

Johnny decided not to reply, he doesn’t know what to say. He can’t figure out if Ten is giving him a full compliment or a backhanded one. “Good night, Ten.” Is all he said, then he laid on his side, looking at the wall.

“Goodnight Johnny.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since NCT is in here now, I have to figure who i’m sending home


	3. Live Shows And Eliminations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Johnny and Ten anxiously waits for their names to be called, to survive the first elimination round

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the inactivity.   
> Sorry for the chapter to be so short but I’ll get back to this and the chapters won’t be so rushed.

Johnny was sitting with the rest of the trainees, looking at the stage filled with empty chairs. All of them waiting to be called, hoping to past the first round of elimination. He was sitting by Ten and some other japanese trainees that was on his team during live shows. He hopes that him, ten and his team will be able to make it to the next round. He knows he's being unrealistic because it may never happen but it's something to hold onto. If he's the only one that didn't make it out of his team, he'd be happy because he had became close with the japanese boys and hopes they can go far into the contest. 

The host had walked up to the stage with a beautiful sequin gown, holding a mic and a pearly white smile. She walked up to the podium, cleared her throat and lifted the mic to her magenta lips. "Hello Trainees, today is the day you were all dreading for. Although I know all of you wishes to make it to the finals together but we have to cut some people out." 

Everyone made bummed out noises and pouty faces. "Let's hope we make it." Ten whispered with a tone filled with hope to Reo and Johnny.

"I'll break the tension and call the japanese boys first." The host said. "Since Korea did the voting for them."

Johnny wrapped hand around Reo's wrist. He whispered "You'll make it." In Japanese, a phrase that he memorized a couple hours before coming to the ceremony. He wanted to lift the spirits of his team since his team was all japanese boys and he was the only Korean. He believes the randomizer machine decided to test his patience and leadership, Johnny feels proud that he made it work. 

*** 

Two Days Ago: 

Johnny was sitting on grass with Ten's head resting on his lap, both tired and cold since it's super early. They had gotten used to the song being blared though the P.A system but the production team had decided to try something else, an actual school bell. It had shaken Johnny and Ten really good, both woke up in freight and took a few moments to adjust to reality. None of the boys were active, talkative. All of them had bed head and eye lids half open, sleep deprived.

"It has only been two weeks since we been here and I'm willing to tap out of the competition." Ten complained, getting a scoff and an eye roll from Johnny.

"You've been saying that since day one." Johnny replied.

"I mean it."

"Then do it. I'm waiting."

Both looked at each other in half hearted glares, Ten broke the staring contest with an eye roll and closed his eyes. "Bitch." He whispered as quietly as he can since he is being filmed, twenty four seven. Although he wants more screen time, sometimes he wants the cameras out of his face. When they were recording for the title track, Ten went to the bathroom to take some breathers and the cameramen followed him in there, hoping to catch him breakdown. He was irritated at the fact that they were invading his privacy and will do anything to catch tears. What if he really needed to do number two, all there are going to catch is awkward silence and a few grunts here and there.

Everyone started clapping, Johnny playfully pushed Ten off of his lap and stood up as quickly as he can. He saw that the host was walking up to them with a clipboard in his hand and a bright smile on her face. He's excited since it's going to be the first time he actually performs, gets to show why japan should vote for him. He also sees a man dressed in white behind her, most likely the translator for the japanese boys. 

"Good morning students, today is the day you'll be assigned in groups. I hope you pay attention because I'll be saying your team captain and team once." The host said.

Ten hopes that he gets a Korean song, although he is paying close attention in japanese class, his tongue always get tied trying to pronounce sentences. He can't imagine if he has to sing a fast line or even be randomly assigned to do a rap, the thought wrecks his nerves. He can't mess up, he needs japan to vote for him so he can debut. Even if a japanese song will prove that he should get votes, he doesn't want to mess up big time. 

"Seo Johnny is a team captain." The host said, snapping both Ten and Johnny out of thought, all the trainees turned their heads to look at him. 

Times like this makes Johnny extremely uncomfortable, makes him want to awkwardly dance his way out of this situation but he knows that'll make it worst. He cleared his throat, smile and walked to the front of the group. 

"His teammates are Nagano Reo, Minamoto Shin, Miyazaki Riku, Asai Asahi and Muto Hayate." The host said.

Johnny looked confused, he looked around to see boys walking towards him. He saw their name tags and saw their names in kanji. Johnny started to panic because all of his teammates are japanese and he doesn't know how to communicate well in japanese. He curses at god because he knows, that god himself, is testing Johnny's leadership and patience.  

"Your song is — Pentagon's Shine, Korean Version." Host said with a smile. "I had to specify because they have a japanese version of that song."

Ten's name was called, thankfully he isn't a team captain, he doesn't know if he has that kind of responsibility in him. He does feel for Johnny though, he's going to pray at night for Johnny – he wants him to lead his team right and make it past the first elimination round. He can't imagine how worried he must feel, Ten would've freaked out right away if he had to be a leader for a team with all japanese boys. 

He walked up to his group, gave them all a high five and walked to the back of the line. He doesn't know the name to everyone in his group but they have to spend three days preparing for the performance so they'll become friends. He hopes that he doesn't have an unfortunate encounter with his team, he came to win a spot, not to deal with petty drama. 

"Your group's song is – Exo's Cha-Ching." 

Ten sighed deeply, a japanese song. He thinks god is out to get him because he likes to take the dick. 

 

*** 

Today is the live shows, Ten is feeling bitter. Jealous, actually, he doesn't bother to lie to himself, he knows he's jealous. The most beautiful japanese boy in the bunch had became close with Johnny. He looked across the room to see Hayate laughing with Johnny. 

"How do you even know what you're laughing about?." Ten asked himself in his head, since there's a huge language barrier between the two boys. Hayate is here busting a lung to Johnny while he has to play charades with the japanese boys in his group. 

They are getting ready, hair, make up, eat and just sit around until their group gets called to perform. Ten is sitting at the back of the small room, looking at the huge screen that hangs on the wall to show the group who is performing. He always glances at the two boys laughing, smiling at each other – he wants to punch Hayate. Ten isn't a professional gay but he can tell when someone's is pulling moves. 

Ten had to get up at six am, walk to the main building at six am and get ready. He had finished getting ready at eight am. It's ten am and they aren't even done with half of the groups. Ten may be bitter from the tiredness but he cannot wait until a fat portion of the boys go home, he doesn't have the patience to go through this again. 

Johnny had became close with Hayate, he thought he was all looks but he commits to this show one hundred percent. He had to get a lot of help from Johnny with pronunciation. Johnny feels bad but he was kind of frustrated with Hayate at first because he has the shortest amount of lines and he couldn't pronounce simple words if his life was on the line. Johnny, being a good leader, took deep breaths and had patience with the japanese boy because he wouldn't want someone to get mad at him for trying his best. Although it took Hayate to learn four seconds worth of lines in two days and half, their performance will be perfect. 

The one who has the best pronunciation in Johnny's group was Reo. It was choppy but within days, he had became understandable. Johnny had taken the rap of the song but he noticed that he'd be out of breath a lot since he took a huge amount of lines. Reo was kind enough to jump in and help him out on the rap and took a reasonable amount of his lines. If Johnny is being honest in his own mind – he thinks him and Reo is carrying this whole group. He can't say that out loud though, the public will look at him differently and there would be no way for him to receive votes to make it to the second round.

He's allowed to have his own opinions, as long as he doesn't say them. Then no one would be pissed at him for being blunt.

"Team 7, Shine Pentagon. Please go to the back of the stage." One of the producers said with a loud, stern tone. Clearly not loving his job but he has to make coins somehow.

Johnny and his group started to walk to the backstage, he turned around to see Ten sitting at the back. They make eye contact, Johnny gave him a small wave and smile, Ten gave him two thumbs up and mouth "good luck." 

Ten watches as Johnny and his group walk out of the waiting/screening room, in a few moments, Ten will be watching in worry. Worried that one of the japanese boys will mess up a step or even a word since it's hard to memorize a whole other language. Ten shouldn't doubt the thought of memorizing lyrics in a language he isn't familiar with again, he's constantly singing to himself and asking one of the japanese boys in his team if he's singing the right lyrics. 

Ten tries his best not to have a bored look on his face – he had read articles about how television always tries their best to paint a random contestant the bad guy. He doesn't want to be that guy who gets bad editing and make the public not vote for him because they're too naïve to tell editing and real conversations. Sometimes he forgets that he isn't here to impress Korea, but that doesn't change the fact that Japan might fall for evil editing. 

His whole plan is to make eye contact with the camera, sing his line perfectly and give Japan that 'wow factor.' and reel in them votes. He can't believe that in a few days that he'll be waiting for his name to be called to be in the next round of live performances. He can't mess up — first he needs to get rid of this unnecessary jealousy he has over Hayate, he literally did nothing and Ten is acting like he has a valid reason to give him eye rolls and purposely ignore him. Sometimes he gets mixed feelings, one minute he wants to punch him and the next he wants to sleep with Hayate — he doesn’t know either.

Everyone started cheering, Ten looked up to see Johnny's group walk on the stage. He sat back up and he sees all of them talking. The japanese boys show off how much Korean they had learned throughout their whole time being on the show. Ten couldn't help but feel warm inside when Reo said a phrase and pulled out a piece of paper out of his pocket and continued to say what he intended on saying. 

"His pronunciation seems to be getting better." Ten said, "He had been coming to mine and Johnny's room a lot and asking for help." He informed one of his teammates, only for him to be confused because he accidentally said that to one of his japanese teammates. 

Some boys had sang their lines, they had hit the chorus. Ten couldn't help but cheer loudly like a straight man at a football game. Johnny had done a good job at leading the boys and helping them with their pronunciation. Although they are doing good, most of the japanese boys' dancing is stiff – clearly not their expertise but they are shining brightly, stage presence and charisma is strong from them. 

"The rap, come on Johnny." Ten said as he jumped out of his seat to stand and continued to cheer. What shocked Ten the most is that Reo, the cute ball of sunshine, walked in front of Johnny — Ten awe'd at the height difference, and started to rap the rest of the verse. "NAGANO REO?!." Ten yelled in shock. 

Everyone in the room clapped loudly and started to cheer for Reo, like Ten, everyone was shocked that he was able to perfect a rap so quickly, in Korean so fast. His rap part was short but the pronunciation was clean. 

 

Johnny was sitting in the waiting/screening room, waiting for Ten's team to perform. Johnny was praising Reo, praising him for killing his part of the rap and not messing up. Backstage he was shaky, like someone who drank way too much coffee than they can handle but his confidence had suddenly bloomed when the song started playing. 

Johnny snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Ten started to speak to the crowd and the camera. He had said a small part in Korean then he started to speak japanese to the camera. He wishes he knew what he was saying, he is slacking a lot in the japanese learning classes – he has to light a fire under his ass so he can be a lot better for the next round to give Japan a bigger reason to vote for him. He just feels discouraged a lot since he has to learn two alphabet systems and also Chinese characters.

*** 

Present: 

Johnny looks at the stage, seeing the japanese students seats are filling up. He feels grateful that most of his team is up there, he turned to his left to see Reo still hasn't been called up. He is getting irritated because Reo had killed that rap and people in the crowd was living for him, it doesn't make sense that he isn't safe from elimination right now. After Korea's pick on the japanese boys are done, they are moving onto Japan's pick for the Korean trainees. 

Anxiousness keeps getting stronger when a japanese trainee who isn't on his team gets called, seats are being filled up and Reo's name still hasn't been called. 

Hayate was the first one to be safe, since he had reeled in the most votes from Korea. Johnny wanted to be shocked but it was predictable, he has a steady ranking throughout the whole show. 

"Now, it had come to the final seat for the japanese boys." The host said. "Although I wish we were able to take all the japanese trainees till the end, we have to cut someone's dream." The host said. 

Johnny turned his head, seeing Reo closed his eyes and take a deep sigh. 

Come on! Call his name!. Johnny angrily thought in his head. Reo was his first japanese friend. Johnny may be biased but he had truly seen how much Reo wanted this, how much effort and time he put into the practices. Would only practice with two hours of sleep since he was too busy trying to perfect his Korean pronunciation and the dance. Johnny is angry – he looks at the roster of japanese boys who had made it to the next round, he fights the urge to roll his eyes. 

A lot of them are literally in elementary and junior high, they still have a lot of time to improve and debut later – Reo on the other hand, a couple years younger than Johnny, needs this more than the little kids who are sitting on the stage. "None of them aren't that good." Johnny thought – although it was mean, he was stating the obvious in his head. He doesn't understand how blind the Korean public can be. Reo has that factor an idol needs. 

"Ichikawa Yoshito and Nagano Reo." The host said. 

Johnny eyes widened, turned his head to see him and Ten looking at Reo in confusion. The small japanese boy stood up, feeling nervous and unaware at what can happen. "One of you will be taking the last seat." The host adds on. 

Johnny and Ten were crossing their fingers, closing their eyes and praying. If Reo doesn't make it, he won't be coming to their room to hang out with them anymore. "The trainee who has enough votes to go to the next round is –." 

That was it. Johnny felt a huge wave of disappointment and frustration – Ichikawa Yoshito was called instead of his friend. Johnny opened his eyes, turned to see Reo bowing and smile at the crowd with glossy eyes. 

He sat back down, sitting there – clearly trying to prevent himself from crying. "Nagano Reo had shocked most of us when he had rapped in Korean, his pronunciation was loud and clear. I am so sorry Reo, I just want you to know that you did well and I am proud of you." The host said sincerely. 

That was it. Nagano Reo smiled, looked at Johnny then back to the floor and started to sob softly. Both Ten and Johnny leaned in to hug and comfort him. He was doing fine on holding in his tears, until she said she was proud of him.

“Now, can the remaining Japanese boys who hadn’t made it to the next round please go pack your things out of your room and get ready to travel to the airport.” The host said.

 

*** 

 

Johnny would be happy that he managed to take a spot to the next round, all of his team and Ten made it – except for Reo. He has a feeling that he’ll be sad for awhile, knowing that ambitious boy’s dream was cut off way too early. 

Ten looked at the crowd, seeing half of his team didn’t make it to the next round. Although they weren’t exactly friends, they deserved to go. The names of his teammates who are going home are Moon Taeil and Zhong Chenle . He’s mad at the fact that good singers are going home so early. 

He kept looking through the crowd, seeing some familiar faces. He was shocked to Park Jisung still sitting in the eliminated crowd. He was smiling and clapping for the Korean trainees who made it. Ten is glad to see that but he knows he’s crying on the inside. 

Both Johnny and Ten looked at each other with a smile – just a few more rounds and they can debut together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don’t attack me for sending specific nct members being eliminated

**Author's Note:**

> yes this is like produce 48 and idol school. fight me.


End file.
